While collaborations between established brands and artists might seem like they’re part of a recent growing trend, Ruinart, the world’s oldest established Champagne house, has understood their ability to profoundly impact people since 1896. For Ruinart’s first advertisement poster, the brand commissioned Czech illustrator Alphonse Mucha to paint the Parisian actress Sarah Bernhardt raising a glass of fizz in his signature Art Nouveau style. Today, Ruinart continues the tradition of collaborating with some of the most thought-provoking artists and designers from all over the world (like Maarten Baas, India Mahdavi, and Gideon Rubin).

Most recently, Ruinart partnered with Liu Bolin, a Chinese artist renown for using his body as a canvas to vanish into his surroundings. After selecting a location – “color and figure are key,” he says – and mapping the desired outcome, he is meticulously painted on, then photographed. Every image is all at once provocative, challenging, and stunning – earning him the moniker “The Invisible Man.” But whether you’re looking at Bolin’s first photograph from 2005 of him in front of the ruins of his Beijing studio the Chinese government destroyed, or a more recent one of him blending into shelves lined with plastic water bottles, one thing is clear: each photo is created with purpose.

Ruinart

Hiding in the Blanc de Blancs crayère

For his work with Ruinart, which took place over ten days last August, Bolin immersed himself in the Champagne house’s vineyards, crayères (chalk caves), production facilities, and even its art collection. “I was surprised to find a place to produce so much work,” says the artist. “Because Ruinart has a deep connection to its people, they also deserved a place in the project.”

Ruinart

Disgorgement production line with workers

The resulting body of work, titled "Reveal the Invisible,” encompasses eight striking photographs, which were unveiled at Paris’s Grand Palais last Thursday, along with a live performance where Bolin was painted to disappear into Jean François de Troy’s Le Déjeuner d’Huîtres (The Oyster Luncheon), the world’s first painting depicting Champagne. From the performance to the photographs to the project title, it’s evident Bolin’s intent was to share the hidden, less obvious stories of Ruinart. Frédéric Dufour, the company’s president, explains, “He reveals what you don’t see with production, the people and places.”